Holyoke School Committee, union reach tentative agreement following yearlong negotiation

HOLYOKE — Following more than a year of back-and-forth discussions, the Holyoke Teachers Association and Holyoke School Committee bargaining teams announced that they reached a tentative contract agreement during their mediation session on May 6.

The contract agreements now need to be ratified by the respective union members before they go into effect.

Interim Superintendent Anthony Soto shared his thoughts on the two sides finally coming to a tentative agreement.

“These contract agreements are important milestones that will benefit our staff, students, families and the community as a whole,” Soto stated. “The tentative agreement reached on May 6 with the HTA reflects months of discussion, collaboration, and compromise, all aimed at reaching a fair agreement for Holyoke teachers while balancing the needs of students and the district’s financial position. It is a testament to the ambitious outcomes that can be achieved while working together under local governance.”

This is the first contract bargained between the union and city officials since state control of the Holyoke Public Schools ended on July 1 2025.

The last HTA contract expired on June 30, 2025, and negotiations have been ongoing since February 2025. Teachers have worked nearly 300 days under the terms of an expired and outdated contract, a situation HTA President Nick Cream said has created stress and tension.

Key concerns were raised during an April 27 press conference, including safety, compensation, licensure requirements tied to pay, limited preparation time, staffing shortages and leave policies. Cream said the union has compromised on several issues, but at the time, was still seeking 14 sick days, three weeks of family leave and removal of licensure from the pay scale.

With the tentative HTA agreement now in place, two remaining steps need to happen before it can be officially ratified: the HTA will schedule an information session for members and then hold an official vote, and then the School Committee must also vote in favor of providing retroactive pay back to July 1, 2025.

According to Holyoke Public Schools, the tentative HTA contract agreement includes:

• More than a 20% increase in teacher salaries over three years (average increase of $12,750).
• A starting salary of $55,000 for new teachers with a bachelor’s degree, which is the highest among nine nearby comparison districts, according to the city.
• A significantly reduced workday and work year.
• Enhanced sick, personal and other leave benefits.
• Additional opportunities for teacher voice to inform decision-making.
  Furthermore, the May 6 mediation session with the HTA produced compromises in six areas, which helped both bargaining teams reach the agreement:
• Reduction of annual teacher workdays to 185, which is down from the current 188 days per school year and a reduction from the previous tentative agreement of 186.
• Introduction of a third educational lane for those with two master’s degrees/certificates of advanced graduate study, while maintaining a fourth lane for professional licensure on the salary schedule.
• Seven days of leave for child bonding, which is up from five that were part of the district’s earlier proposal.
• Reduction of eligibility requirement to use catastrophic leave from five years to three years.
• Greater flexibility in using bereavement leave.
• Superintendent discretion to allow more categories of employees to be eligible for additional compensation in critical needs areas.

The collective bargaining page on the district website will be updated soon to reflect the terms included in the tentative agreement.

In a statement, the HTA said, “We needed a contract that would attract and retain great teachers for Holyoke students. This contract makes us more competitive with surrounding school districts and marks an important step in regaining local control of our schools.”

Although the details have not yet been officially voted on, Mayor Joshua Garcia said in a statement on his Facebook that “This proposal is truly unprecedented. It is not only the strongest agreement in Holyoke’s history, but also stands as one of the best teacher contracts in the region, surpassing those of many surrounding communities.”

In a comment to Reminder Publishing, Cream said the tentative agreement includes a work day and work year commensurate with other districts, humane parental leave, wage increases and improvements to the salary structure, protected time for preparation and the creation of a labor-management health and safety committee.

He stated that members of HTA have already reviewed the contract as of press time and will schedule a ratification vote for the coming weeks.